Woman Who Allegedly Coughed, Licked and Wiped Saliva on ATM Arrested

A woman in Toronto, the capital of the Canadian province of Ontario, has been arrested for allegedly coughing, spitting and wiping her saliva on an ATM and the surrounding area inside a Scotiabank branch amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Holly Hobbs, 32, was reported to have entered the bank near the Pape Avenue and Cosburn Avenue area around 5:30 a.m. local time on April 30. She reportedly left the bank five minutes after the incident, CityNews reports.

Bank staff discovered the incident at around 9 a.m. and police were called to the bank around 30 minutes later. A warrant was issued for Hobbs' arrest and she was apprehended on Tuesday. Hobbs was charged with mischief and is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

Newsweek has contacted the Toronto Police Service and Scotiabank for more information on the incident.

Canada was placed in lockdown in March following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and parts of the country began reopening this month, including in Toronto.

"As the Province of Ontario moves towards re-opening businesses, services and public spaces in stages, the City of Toronto today announced its plan to support retail stores as they re-open for curbside pickup and delivery on Monday [May 11]," the website of the Toronto city government states.

There have 7,775 confirmed cases and 622 deaths reported in Toronto, as of Monday, according to figures published on the website of the Toronto city government.

Canada has seen at least 72,419 confirmed infections and 5,300 fatalities to date, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Last month a woman in Florida was arrested for allegedly spitting fruit into two produce bins at a Walmart in Holly Hill. She was reported to have opened a sealed package of guava and bit the fruit before she spat it into her hand and dropped it into a bin of limes. She was also reported to have spat on a pile of oranges before dropping another piece of the fruit into the pile.

The girl and her father were on a walk along Pinfold Lane at around 3:30 p.m local time when they encountered four teenagers who were on bikes, police said in a news release.

Back in March, seven police officers were placed in quarantine in Spain after a woman spat at them while she was being arrested who later tested positive for the novel coronavirus. She was reported to have repeatedly yelled "I have coronavirus" while spitting at the officers as she was being detained.

Cars and delivery vehicles on the streets of Toronto, Ontario in Canada, pictured on March 24, 2020.

This infographic, provided by Statista, shows the countries with the most COVID-19 cases in the world.